Trifecta
by Eternal White Rose
Summary: She hopes that Ganondorf can remember a time long ago when they had earrings created as a symbol of their never-ending friendship and alliance.


**Trifecta**

* * *

Zelda bounces up and down on her sleeping mat as a strong hand tries to keep her steady. "Stop. Moving."

"Sorry, Gan," she replies, looking up at the muscular Gerudo man. "I'm just so excited!"

"Keep your excitement to a minimum. One wrong move and I'll be shoving this needle into your neck and not your ear.

Link chuckles from beside the fire and Zelda shoots him a glare but her expression softens when she sees the fresh gold hoops in his ears, their gemstones illuminated by the flames under their cooking pot. "You promise they don't hurt that bad?"

Link nods, and Ganondorf chimes in, "It's a pinch. Super quick and you'll forget about it once it's all over because you'll have brand new jewelry in your ears."

"Hylian nobility always wore clips," Zelda says as Ganondorf grabs an ice chunk from their box. Fresh ice, right off of a stream coming down from Mount Lanayru's peak, hidden in the crevices of the mountain. Link and Ganondorf had spent some time arguing with their hands about how much to take. "I don't believe there's ever been a princess to have her ears pierced."

"With a new era, comes a new tradition." Ganondorf presses the ice to her ear. "This is to numb you a little bit," he murmurs and Zelda shivers. She isn't quite sure if it's from the cold or from anticipation. Or fear. Or a combination of all three.

She glances at Link again right as the young hero lifts a ripped cloth to his ear. Zelda barely manages to catch the spot of blood left behind from his new piercing.

Ganondorf finds her distraction to be the perfect moment to push his needle through her earlobe.

The young princess yelps and pulls away, needle still imbedded in her ear, and puts on her best puppy eyes. "You said it doesn't hurt!"

"It doesn't." Ganondorf gestures to his wide array of body jewelry and other modifications. "Hylians just have delicate skin."

"Well, I'm sorry for not being raised under the desert sun."

Link crawls over and hands her a bowl, the bottom just barely covered by the stew he had been working on. Curse him, she thinks as she drinks the small amount of liquid and practically melts into her boots. Only the best cook in Hyrule could manage a feat like that. And every meal Link prepares leaves her covered in goosebumps.

"I have to take out the needle and replace it with the earring," Ganondorf says and Zelda recoils. "I already got the needle through your skin, this'll hurt much less."

"How can I trust you this time?" she asks.

Ganondorf gives her a deadpanned stare. "Because that's literally how it works. The skin is already broken."

Link is silently cackling by the fire, close enough that his hair is mere centimeters away from burning off of his head and leaving him bald. A bald hero of Hyrule. What a thought.

"Alright," Ganondorf says as he sits back. "First ear is all done."

"Wait, what?" Zelda lifts her hand to her ear and gently runs a finger against the brand new piece of jewelry in her ear. "...oh."

"Now, are you going to be a pain while I do your ear?"

Zelda sticks her tongue out at the tan man when he turns to his traveling pack, presumably to grab another needle. Zelda had watched him use two needles for Link, so she simply assumes.

"I'm getting a fresh needle. Don't need you getting an infection."

...Alright, Zelda is convinced that Ganondorf can read minds. He takes out a black box and pulls a needle out, looking at it closely with the help of the fire. She also sees him take out another golden hoop. "Ready for the second one?"

"No?" Zelda replies with a sheepish smile.

"Too bad." The princess pouts as Ganondorf gets another ice chunk from their makeshift ice box. He moves to her other side and presses the ice to her lobe. "Like with the last one, I'm going to numb your lobe and then poke through. No need to freak out this time."

Link moves closer to her this time, a cooked newt in his mouth. He's a reassuring presence, and Zelda is glad that he is so finely tuned to other people's emotions. He doesn't touch her; he knows his boundaries as a knight protecting the princess of Hyrule.

Sometimes, she wishes that wasn't an issue.

"Alright, I'm going to push the needle in now," Ganondorf says as he takes the ice away and lines up the small piece of metal to her earlobe. "I need you to be perfectly still. I have to line up to the spot I pierced on the other side." He takes her face and tiltes her head to look at both her ears at once. "Three, two, one."

As he pushes the needle through, Zelda does her best to not wince. Her hand shoots out to grab whatever it can. Link's lithe fingers wrap around hers, and the blonde girl lets out a breath through her teeth. She looks at Link and he smiles. You've done a good job, his eyes say. Link's eyes have always been harsh, but with her and Ganondorf they've held a softness no one else would ever see.

"Thank you," Zelda whispers, face burning and most certainly not because of the fire. She pulls her hand away and reaches up to feel the needle in her ear. It's strange, compared to the hoop.

"If someone had seen that little display, they'd accuse you both of courting," Ganondorf says while he switches the needle with Zelda's new earring. "Thankfully, it's just me, and quite frankly I think you both are being _grossly_ romantic."

Zelda huffs. "If it wasn't for the fact that you asked your sisters specifically for hand-made earrings for the three of us, I'd have Link knock you senseless."

Said hero looks at Zelda in alarm, almost dropping the ladle he was using to scoop up their supper back into the cooking pot. In a panic he begins signing. Zelda can barely catch him trying to assure the Gerudo King that he wouldn't dare lay a single finger on him. Ganondorf barks out a laugh. "Calm down, hero. If I was worried about you punching me, I would have drawn my weapon already."

The three of them laugh and Link distributes their bowls of food. They eat in silence, the crackling of the fire breaking the peaceful quiet of the night. Zelda looks up at the starry sky. "Do you guys think that we changed fate's design? That everything will finally change?"

Ganondorf ponders this, while spinning the bowl in his hands. "The gods are curious creatures. We will have to see. Time can only answer questions like that."

Link nods.

Zelda bites her lip.

Ganondorf down the rest of his stew.

* * *

Zelda waves her lit torch in front of her, illuminating the massive cavern and all the malice spilling from its center. "We're here," she says, and Link steps up next to her. "That's definitely him."

_Do you think he still remembers us? Or at least, the past us?_ Link signs, and taps the ruby gem in the golden hoop in his right earlobe.

"I don't know." Zelda runs a finger against the ruby in her left earring. "Time will be the answer to that question."

They approach the rotting corpse carefully, the emerald and sapphires of its golden hoop earrings catching a glint of light from the torch. She hopes that Ganondorf can remember a time long ago when they had earrings created as a symbol of their never-ending friendship and alliance.

She hopes the Gods have not intervened.

* * *

_authors notes:_

_long time no see, ffnet_

_ive been hella focused on my group chat fic over on ao3 (since u cant have group chats on here) so if ya want hilarious reader-driven content with the champions, i highly suggest yall go check it out_

_this isnt part of a series with it weird_


End file.
